Samsung closes last factory in China, as it fails to survive among domestic rivals

Samsung Electronics
Co Ltd has ended mobile telephone production in China, it said on Wednesday
(October 2), hurt by intensifying competition from domestic rivals in the
world’s biggest smartphone market.

The shutdown of Samsung’s last China
phone factory comes after it cut production at the plant in the southern city
of Huizhou in June 2019 and suspended another factory late 2018, underscoring
stiff competition in the country.

The South Korean tech giant’s ceased
phone production in China follows other manufacturers shifting production from
China due to rising labor costs and the economic slowdown.

Sony also said it was closing its
Beijing smartphone plant and would only make smartphones in Thailand.

But Apple still makes major products in
China.

Samsung’s share of the Chinese market
shrank to 1% in the first quarter from around 15% in mid-2013, as it lost out
to fast-growing homegrown brands such as Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi Corp,
according to market research firm Counterpoint.

Samsung, the world’s top smartphone
maker, said it had taken the difficult decision in a bid to boost efficiency.
It added it would however continue sales in China.

Samsung declined to specify the Huizhou
plant’s capacity or its numbers of staff.

South Korean media said it employed
6,000 workers and produced 63 million units in 2017.

The company has expanded smartphone
production in lower-cost countries, such as India and Vietnam, in recent years.